Open Meetings Law FAQ 8

Is
the regular use of public meeting notices that contain a non-specific
agenda item like "such other matters as are authorized by law" or
"miscellaneous business" or "such other matters as may come before the
board" consistent with the notice requirements of the Wisconsin Open
Meetings Law?

No. The Wisconsin Open Meetings Law
requires that every public notice of a meeting must give the "time,
date, place and subject matter of the meeting, including that intended
for consideration at any contemplated closed session, in such form as is
reasonably likely to apprise members of the public and the news media
thereof." Wis. Stat. sec. 19.84(2). The requirement does not compel a
detailed agenda. However, the public is entitled to the fullest and most
complete information compatible with the conduct of governmental
business. Therefore, the notice should be specific.

Specific notice requires that when a
member of the governmental body knows in advance of the time notice is
given that a matter may come before the body, that matter must be
described in the meeting notice. 66 Op. Att'y Gen. 143, 144 (1977). The
chief presiding officer of the governmental body is responsible for
providing notice, and when he or she is aware of matters which may come
before the body, those matters must be included in the meeting notice.
66 Op. Att'y Gen. 68, 70 (1977).

Past attorney general opinions said that
governmental bodies could discuss matters not specifically set forth in
the meeting notice and not known to the chief presiding officer if the
notice contained broad umbrella clauses such as "such other matters as
are authorized by law" or "miscellaneous business," but cautioned that
such a procedure should be used with restraint. 66 Op. Att'y Gen 143
(1977). In a March 5, 2004 informal opinion letter which addressed a
different but related issue regarding non-specific agenda items, the
Wisconsin Attorney General stated that "[g]eneral subject matter
designations such as 'miscellaneous business,' or 'agenda revisions,' or
'such other matters as are authorized by law' should be avoided." Given
these admonitions against the use of non-specific agenda items and the
basic notice requirements under the open meetings law, the regular use
of them on agendas is not consistent with the open meetings law.